Ricardo Assis Rosa
Senior Lecturer in Architecture at Oxford Brookes University

A striking new piece of artwork has been installed at Oxford Brookes University.

The Rain Pavilion is the outcome of an exciting student and staff led project developed between the School of Architecture and the School of Art for Oxford Brookes University’s art strategy programme.

Located on the Piazza leading up to the John Henry Brookes Building, the Rain Pavilion comprises steel, leaf-like structures stemming from a timber pool at the base.

For a few minutes every hour during the day, a gentle shower of ‘rain’ falls from the canopy into the pool below.

The artwork was originally conceived as part of a student design competition in 2012 and has been developed over a period of three years into its final form.

Students from both schools were initially given a brief to develop ideas for a pavilion on the Piazza, which is at the new entrance to the Gipsy Lane site facing on to Headington Road.

After the ideas were exhibited in the Glass Tank gallery, the Rain Pavilion, the initial design concept by students Alexandra Horsman and Charlotte Birch, was selected and taken forward for full design development which involved both students and staff.

Myself and Senior Lecturer at the School of Art Tiffany Black led the design process as part of a collaborative teaching initiative between the two schools while the project was closely coordinated with Stephen Melville as the lead engineering consultant.

Throughout this design process, students had the opportunity to learn and to be part of a project from idea to conception, working with a team of industry professionals all the while developing vital employable, professional practice skills.

The collaborative and interdisciplinary nature of the project gave the staff and students a rich experience, enhancing both teaching and learning at Brookes.

Architecture student James Palmer was one of the students involved with the design development and manufacturing throughout his undergraduate study and he now continues to study his postgraduate qualification with Oxford Brookes this year.

The Pavilion itself has been created using the latest digital manufacturing and parametric design technologies inspired by traditional craftsmanship.

Highly skilled contractors, who enabled the beautiful Pavilion to physically emerge from its digital conception, used laser cut, galvanised steel stems and canopies to create the extraordinary leaf structures.

Our aim was to create a structure which gives a stronger sense of place for the Piazza which fills the area with playfulness and character.

The finished Rain Pavilion offers an experience for the senses, not only in scale and form but also through its textures, colours, reflections and opportunity to enter into the structure itself.

When the gentle showers emerge they leave sounds, reflections and sensations and at night, different tones of colour shine over the structure providing an incredible presence to the site.

The completed work manifests the spirit of innovation, design and collaboration at Oxford Brookes University and is a fantastic example of different academic areas of the university coming together to improve our students’ learning experience.

I hope it will bring much enjoyment to the wider community and encourage local people to visit the space.